Chapter 468 – Surprise Tackle

*** Nanoka ***

"Is that Alzi in the pile?" I ask. I think I see another body kneeling in the middle of the kids, though I also see one gold body of Alzi in the middle of the babies. It would've been smart to have that one be the pregnant body instead, but they must've pounced before Nakuma brought them over. Kou had better not say anything about me causing that issue.

"Yes," Yuki says, with Nakuma wrapped around her. "You look nice in your dress. I don't think I've ever seen you in anything but a robe."

"You probably haven't," I say. "It feels strange."

"You fit right in," Armirynth says. "The elderly are all feeling a little strange, being dressed this way."

I shouldn't forget that I'm not the only Mother in this harem. "Thank you. It can be hard to remember that I'm not the only one feeling the years," I say. "Are we going to do anything about the pile?"

"If you want to get mobbed," Mai says. "Nakuma already brought all of Alzi's bodies here that she could."

"I don't get how she got a bunch of noble kids to tackle her like this," Elora says. "I- This isn't what I expected. I'm happy that she's happy, but Shyla is sweating right now about that dress."

"I am, Princess Elora, but it will be ruined while playing with Alzi's children," Shyla says, her voice wavering at the end. "I can live with that. This won't be the last time this happens."

They do look a lot more like pixie kids playing right now than they usually do. We're only ever seeing her body for a few seconds at a time, which is impressive, given how tall she is. I hope they factored in all this time into the schedule.

*** Alzi ***

"Baby," Mommy says. "We need to get going. You'll have more time to play with them all tonight and tomorrow, and some of them will be staying with us."

"Fine," I say. I don't know what made them all want to pile onto me with hugs, but it was a lot of fun. Still, I was on the ground more than I would've liked, so Shyla must be worried about the dress. It seems to have held up well, though I'm sure she has a very different view on how well the dress still looks.

The kids aren't piling onto Mommy, returning to the noble-like behavior that they had when I first showed up. I wonder if Irlo got to them before this, maybe behind my wives' back. Elora looked very surprised at all the chaos.

"See you, Daddy/Mommy!" they all scream as Mommy pulls me through the crowd.

"Can my bodies stay with them?" I ask.

"I think that is the plan now," Mommy says. "They got a lot closer to you than we thought they would. We thought the kids would be a little more orderly, given their upbringing. It was a joy to watch, but we were worried about you with your belly. And Kelly was worrying about the kids, too. You need to spend some time not being pregnant so you can play with the kids without making everyone around you worried about you."

"Good luck with that," I say.

"I'll make a cage for her, Lady Armirynth," Kou says. "Kids! Please get into your lines. Alzi's second body will be in the middle, or as close to it as we can get, as there are a limited number of her bodies around. Today is a big day for the Queendom and the Families, so be respectful. And like we just said, there will be more time to play later."

"Is Irlo coming with us?" One asks.

"No, she will be with the Queen for the ceremony, but she'll be around to play later," Kou says. "Move, girls! We have a ceremony to complete, and then there'll be more time to play!"

That's a good motivation for all the kids to get back in line, with the older kids working hard to get the young ones in order. Many of the kids are just one or two years old and have a maid helping them around, but there are enough toddlers to cause trouble.

Shyla finds her opening and starts pacing around me, with her hand tugging and poking all over. She's just mumbling, so I don't think anything terrible has happened; it probably just needs a dusting off. She had to have prepared for me to be doing something with the kids.

"Nanoka, you look lovely," I say. "I'm glad they dragged you out."

"I wasn't sure how I would compare to the young beauties you have in your harem," Nanoka says. "But it seems I can still pull off dresses. And it does feel a bit refreshing being out of a robe. Shyla, is her dress ok?"

"Yes," Shyla sighs. "I just had to clean up. There are no cuts or tears, or missing gems. We should've had you meet the kids, and then get dressed. But it's hard getting that many kids together when the event won't be happening for a few hours. We should've had Elora do a party for the parents. Perhaps for next time. I didn't think I would stress out this much about it all. The dress really is fine, and you look beautiful. You're ready to go, Your Royal Highness."

"I understand," I say. "I'm sorry for scaring you so much. Kou, show the way, please."

The kids are already heading off with the small army of maids. I'm going to have trouble finding maids for all the kids, but they probably won't all get maids. Yuki doesn't seem to have one, so maybe Shimmer and Elora did something to earn a maid. We can't make it too easy to get a maid, or we'll be right back at the same problem.

"This way, My Empress," Kou says.

My harem goes through a different door than the kids. Yumanea is inside, tapping her foot. The Royal Healer, Nesh, and Lotus are in the waiting room as well.

"Welcome, Alzi," Yumanea says. "I'm sorry for the weird timing. But kids."

"You got them all here, so I'm fine with everything," I say. "As long as nothing too weird happens during the ceremony."

"It'll be fine," Yumanea says. "It's straightforward. We thought of putting on some displays of our abilities, but I don't have the heart for it, and it would cut into your time with the kids. There's a speech, giving over the crown - if you wish to give a speech, you can - and then Elora will say something. Dinner shall be short with so many kids around. Plenty of food to fill everyone up, but not the many courses that we're used to."

"Are you doing alright?" I ask.

"I lost a lot of wives," Yumanea says. "It's a good thing that the next generation is taking over. I'm not the right one to wear the crown anymore. It's probably been that way for a while now. Royal does really want to see you."

"I don't care to see her," I say. "It's a risk to visit a Goddess."

"We're sorry about how you found that out," Yumanea says. "However, the support saved many lives. Relax for a few minutes. Kou will tell you when to walk out. I have to greet the nobles and get this started officially."

I don't know what changed. There wasn't a maid who came back to get Yumanea, but she walked right out the door and left us. Nesh and the Royal Healer leave to join her, but Lotus comes over to me.

"Hi, I'm sorry," Lotus says. "Has my daughter been well? I just need to hear about that, and then I'll give a better apology. You helped me, and then I went and tried to capture you and ruin the war effort. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"She's doing well," I say. "I didn't realize you haven't been around to see her. I've mostly forgotten about the incident."

"I'm happy to hear she's doing well," Lotus says. "I knew you would be a good parent, I'm just worried as her Mother. I'm sure you understand that. I understand if you wish for me not to be part of the wedding later. Yumanea hasn't cared to talk about it, but if I need to step out, I will."

"No, you can stay," I say. "You apologized immediately. That's more than most do, and you cared about your kid first. That's enough with Nature dead."

"Ah, so that is what that was all about," Lotus says. "I should go support Yumanea. Thank you for asking about her. She is doing a lot worse than she lets on. Thank you for forgiving me. I'll work hard to make sure you don't regret your decision. Enjoy the night. Don't let our small group ruin it for you. It should be a great night for you. Kids, and another crown."

"Thank you," I say. "Just meeting the kids for a bit made it a great day."

"Of course," Lotus says, bowing and turning to follow her wives out the door.

Eterna immediately fills in the space, and I wait for Kou to tell me to go out. I wonder if Elora will walk out with me. It should be most of my wives, right?

...

"They're ready for you to walk out now, My Empress," Kou says. "Everyone will join you shortly after you make your entrance. Elora will be second, and then Nanoka will lead the rest out. You've somehow managed to have too many royals in your harem for roles, a funny problem to have. So just follow along. It's time to make you the ruler over the idiots who tortured you. Most of them are dead now, though a few are still around. But we can worry about that later."

"I thought Yumanea was introducing me," I say. "Eterna?"

"I'm walking out with you," Eterna says. "I'm not risking it again. I should've flown with you before."

"That's probably a good idea," I say.

"They'll make do. Right this way, My Empress," Kou says.

I follow the same path that Yumanea took. It's just a short walk through a hallway, then through another door to enter the throne room from the back. The crowd stands, which is weird when I'm already there in the middle of the crowd with the kids.

Eterna gives me a bit of space. I can still feel her presence, but it isn't like she's my blanket. Yuki and I share the fact that we both have a clingy lover, but I love the attention mine gives me.

I move to stand next to Yumanea in front of the throne. The crown is in her hands instead of on her head, and Nesh, Lotus, and Rosemary are standing off to the side with small smiles.

"You aren't a Princess of this nation," Yumanea says. "But you are the head wife of the strongest family this Queendom has seen. For that, I present this crown for you to wear. With it comes the responsibility to lead this Queendom and make it better for the next generation. To protect the great borders and help them prosper. You will gain my harem to help you keep the peace, and if needed, provide you with extra wisdom from the old Queens. I know you already have plenty of great women to help you, one of them being my daughter, Princess Elora. Do you accept the crown and this responsibility?"

"Yes," I say. Well, not really. Most of that will be Elora's job to deal with. But I'll take the gold and some peace from everything for a while.

Yumanea stretches a bit and manages to get the crown over my horns. Behind me, I can hear everyone's footsteps coming up to me. My kids understand it's a big moment and start to clap. But my second body is cheering with them, so the silly nobles stop giving my cute kids strange looks. Elora hugs me from behind and waits for my kids to calm down.

"Thank you all," Elora says. "Queen Alzi, would you like to give a speech?"

"I suppose I should," I say. It's not like they've given me much respect, but they did all fight to protect me. "There's a lot I could talk about. But we'll look to the future. For now. When Elora bought me, she had a wish to make this nation better for everyone in the Queendom, and I like that vision. I hope to lead us to a future that is better for all, stopping the exploitation and the problems that the commoners face. I'll work with her to see that wish come true."

"Thank you," Elora says. "I want to say sorry. Many in this room have made it a difficult journey up to this moment for you, and I plan to make the moments that follow both easier for you and better for everyone in the Queendom. We've been through much. Two wars, Champions raining down upon us, and a new power structure. And all of it in such a short span of time. Everyone has lost someone they love. Everyone has faced new and terrible struggles. I wish for us to come together and face the coming challenges together, solving them in ways that lift everyone. It'll be hard and take a lot of work. But if we're committed to this, I'm sure it will work out for us all. A future that is better for everyone, including us. That is my vision and the one that I will use to guide me as I work hard to achieve Queen Alzi's goals."

The nobles give a polite clap, but it seems a number of them don't agree with that vision; they would rather the peasants stay peasants. It's too bad for them that I'm raising a large group of kids who can take their places if needed. Most of the hateful ones have probably hurt me anyway.

But with all the kids I'm raising, I don't have time to deal with the nobles not following Elora's orders.